Commentary: Reform property taxes — then eliminate them
Anne Englert, For the Express-News
May 15, 2022
We tell their stories, because the circumstances are real.
The middle-aged woman who inherited her grandmother’s home, the young couple wanting to start a family but wondering how long they can pay the property taxes before they are forced to move; the family that takes out a loan to meet their property tax; the long-term residents in a rapidly changing neighborhood who face displacement; the resident on a fixed-income forgoing repairs and sometimes necessities to pay even moderately rising property taxes.
We know these people. They are our neighbors. They are us.
High property taxes displace families, severing support and destabilizing neighborhoods.
We are tired of Band-Aid solutions. We’re tired of attending workshops on how to protest our property taxes instead of workshops on how to change the system. We are tired of the anxiety that hits us when the tax bill comes. For some homeowners, the property tax is a financial burden.
No one should have to spend 15 to 20 hours to take on the government, pleading their case for their home’s appraisal to be lowered a few thousand dollars, year after year. No one should fear the property tax process, but many do because they don’t have the resources to fight back.
Until property taxes are eliminated, we implore our elected officials at all levels — school boards, county, municipal and state — to create change that is meaningful for homeowners. Elected officials have proven that if they want to do something, they can. They have the power and the tools to lower the tax rate and give the maximum protection to homeowners.
They should:
Run a more efficient government. It is time to stop waste. Governments are to be good stewards of other people’s money. Fair and efficient government must do the right thing so homeowners and renters can live in their communities affordably and not be taxed out of their home.
Cut the tax rate in half.
Double or triple the homestead exemptions. The $5,000 exemption offered by the county is roughly only $30 a year, equal to three trips to the coffee shop, one month’s prescription, a half-tank of gas or one bag of dog food.
Freeze the tax burden on the valuations at the year the purchase was made. If someone buys a $150,000 home, they pay taxes at that rate until they sell it. If someone buys a million-dollar home, they know they will pay approximately $33,000 each year in property taxes until they sell.
Replace the property tax with a strong consumer tax.
Taxing residents out of their homes is an ethical, not just economic, issue.
We cannot continue living in fear that we will not be able to afford our property taxes. Join forces for property tax relief, reform and, ultimately, elimination.
Anne Englert has lived in San Antonio for 25 years; she is a Dellview Area Neighborhood Association board member.